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Inside The Blue Jays

Blue Jays' Top Free Agent Star One of Few Acquisitions Working Properly

Injuries don't tell the entire tale of the year as the Toronto Blue Jays' newest starting pitcher is excelling for the Jays.
Maddy Dickens|
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease (84) poses for a photo during media day at the Player Development Complex.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease (84) poses for a photo during media day at the Player Development Complex. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

There have been many aspects to the Toronto Blue Jays' season that have been hard to fathom as the injuries continue to pile up and key players are struggling on the mound.

The starting rotation is bleeding without Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berrios, who have been victims of the injured list.

While most things in baseball are uncertain, Jays manager John Schneider has been able to relax when Dylan Cease's start day comes back around for his team. Cease, alongside Kevin Gausman, has been carrying the staff in '26, but Cease is showing off in ways that the organization was dreaming of in '25.

Toronto signed Cease this offseason to bring a strikeout machine to the rotation, as he has had five consecutive seasons with at least 210 K's. Well, he is well on track to keep that streak alive as he is tied atop the AL for the most in '26, despite 10 fewer innings on the mound compared to Gavin Williams.

It isn't like Cease is only retiring batters, but letting runs score, so he is getting pulled from the game. No, he has only made five starts compared to most others who have made six on the year. Including the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal, who Cease currently has the edge over.

It is definitely too early to be talking about end-of-year awards, but it is hard not to acknowledge the way that Cease is paving the way for both himself and the Blue Jays as starters are inching their way back to the lineup.

A Quick Look at Cease Amongst Other Elite AL Arms

Dylan Cease throws a baseball in a blue Blue Jays jerse
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease (84) delivers during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. | William Liang-Imagn Images

When thinking of the AL and pitching, immediately Skubal comes to mind, but he has only 38 strikeouts in 36 innings. Not quite the numbers seen last year. Cease, on the other hand, is on pace for the best year of his career.

There is one obvious frontrunner as the best in the league right now, as Jose Soriano from the Los Angeles Angels is posting an unfathomable 0.24 ERA to complement 43 strikeouts, and if he somehow maintains that pace, nobody is catching him.

While that is a mind-boggling stat line, Cease's production should not be overlooked as he is simply getting better as the year goes on.

  • 44 Strikeouts
  • 0 Home Runs
  • 2.10 ERA
  • 1.29 WHIP
  • .200 Opponent's Batting Average

Cease will likely get the call for the series opener against the Boston Red Sox. If there is ever a time to watch the Jays, it is when he takes the mound. Toronto is finally starting to find a groove offensively, and as players start to get healthy, this is going to be an incredibly tough team to beat.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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